Friday, June 21, 2013

After News 4 aired an exclusive interview with former labor leader
turned FBI informant against the mob, Ron Fino, a local woman called
hoping Fino could help solve her father's murder.

Meriya Sciolino
was 8-years-old when her father, Billy Sciolino, was killed gangland
style in March 1980. Sciolino, a known mob associate and enforcer, was
gunned down inside a construction trailer on Main Street in Buffalo.

"I
think about it, probably daily. About my dad. Just thinking about what a
different life I would have had. A totally different life," Meriya
said. "A lot of questions, and I promised my dad that I want to get him
closure."

Meriya reached out to News 4 after seeing Don Postles'
interview with Fino Thursday night. Fino was a mob connected union
leader who became a paid government witness and FBI informant. He's
promoting a book about his life, and during the interview, he was asked
about the Sciolino killing.

"I knew him very well. I think I know [who killed him]. I wish I did know," Fino said.

Meriya
saw the interview and says she watched it over and over, crying the
whole night. Fino said he believes the killing happened for one of two
reasons.

"One he was caught cooperating with the FBI or because
of the Rochester situation (mafia), traveling back and forth, meeting
with people," Fino said.

But Meriya says as a little girl, she knew a different man, a man who was a great father who preached loyalty.

"My
dad was not a rat. He was not a snitch. That was born and bred in me
not to tattle. I don't believe for one minute that he was a rat," she
said.

The cold blooded mob execution has haunted her for years.
It is still unsolved and no one was ever charged. And like Fino, Meriya
has her own suspicions about who did it.

"Your best friends that you think are the ones that come and murder you when you die in that life," she said.

Meriya
is busy raising a family of her own, but Thursday night's interview
with Fino has brought out all the raw emotion she's been carries about
her dad's death. She's hoping that one day, those responsible for the
violent killing will be brought to justice.